KPop Demon Hunters Star Reveals How Her Life Journey Reflected Main Character's Story

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"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I lacked blue eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," reveals the actress, who portrayed Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, forty, is describing her childhood in Texas, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her journey toward belonging in American society.

In the movie, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from dark powers, Rumi has to accept her identity as part human, part demon – and when she first saw the screenplay, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she says.

These were all components of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at different points in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"As kids, what you see influences your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it launched on Netflix in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and reached the top 10 of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To star in the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for her "a dream come true" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

She notes many Korean-Americans have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first instance of their dual heritage and cultural roots.

"I feel like K-Pop has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, currently," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and the actress admits she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to say this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like a gamble," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to meet everyone working on the film face-to-face, she adds.

The film was released against the backdrop of increased immigration raids in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's deeply saddening," says Cho. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in this day and age, when I feel like the society and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it became the season's hit film, because there was a need for positivity and something to unite us as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress says she is aware that AI is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I believe they're going to have digital performers and singers. I know they're already here. I understand performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I hope the public have appreciation and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers around the world are calling for a follow-up.

She reveals she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the platform or the production company, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she shares. "So we shall see, and I think fans everywhere would protest if it didn't happen."

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